The prime minister will not be drawn on a major overhaul of US border security rules that could force travellers from Australia and 41 other countries to hand over five years of social media data when applying for an entry permit.
Under plans put forward by the Trump administration, social media accounts would be made a "mandatory data element" for anyone looking to use the country's popular visa-free travel scheme known as ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation).
Travellers previously had the option of providing their online details, but it was not compulsory.
US President Donald Trump said the changes were about protecting Americans.
"We want safety. We want security. We want to make sure we're not letting the wrong people come into our country," he told reporters at the White House on Thursday (AEDT).
US Customs and Border Protection has published a request for comment online, giving 60 days' notice of the changes.
"CBP is adding social media as a mandatory data element for an ESTA application," the memo reads.
"The data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last five years."
Visitors would also need to provide phone numbers used by themselves and their families for the past five years, plus any email addresses they have used in the past 10.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the US was entitled to set its own entry rules because as a sovereign nation.
"This is a decision that the United States is making. We recognise that," he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
"They have a right to set the rules which are there."
Most Australians who travel to the US enter on an ESTA, the form that provides a relatively quick and inexpensive way into America for citizens of friendly countries.
As part of the changes, the US government also plans to scrap the ESTA website and instead require all potential travellers to apply through a mobile app.
"Currently, applicants can apply for an ESTA via the ESTA website or the ESTA Mobile application," Customs and Border Protection said.
"However, poor quality image uploads to the ESTA website have resulted in applicants bypassing the facial comparison screening."
Opposition frontbencher James Paterson said he would not criticise the US for overhauling the visa-free program.
"Some of this is not new. It's standard information," he told Sky News on Thursday.
